Extreme dry forces early start to fire season

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Parched NSW is facing a bushfire season as bad as 2001-02, when 109 homes, 222 vehicles and 753,000 hectares of land were burnt over 23 ferocious summer days, the Rural Fire Service warned yesterday.

The start of the official fire season has subsequently been brought forward from October 1 to August 1 in 46 of the state's 154 local government areas.

The Commissioner, Phil Koperberg, said the only moderating factor was that so much of the state has already been burnt in recent years through wild fires and hazard reduction.

But as the Canberra fire of 2003 showed, in the most extreme conditions, even paddocks grazed bare by livestock will burn.

As the drought drags into its third year and with 87 per cent of the state drought-declared, parts of NSW are extremely dry.

"If things remain as they are we will be facing a worst-case scenario," Mr Koperberg said.

The change of date means that anyone wanting to do hazard reduction burning from the start of next month will need a permit from the RFS.

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Mr Koperberg said an early declaration over such a wide area had only happened two or three times before. The change came because many burn-offs have already blazed out of control in recent months due to the extremely dry conditions.

The Emergency Services Minister, Tony Kelly, said that for much of the state just to get back to normal conditions, above average rain of 100 to 180 millimetres is needed quickly.

The Bureau of Meteorology's seasonal outlook, however, says the chance of average rain over the next three months is just 50-50.

Mr Kelly urged landowners not to engage in panic burning before August 1 and warned them they would be prosecuted if they allowed any burns to escape.

The local government areas affected run from the Northern Rivers and Northern Tablelands south along the coast and ranges as far as Kiama.

With 100 new tankers in recent years and a national aviation system that will enable states to more readily share aircraft for surveillance and water bombing, Mr Koperberg said the state was well prepared for a serious fire season.

But new research from the Risk Frontiers Natural Hazards Research Centre at Macquarie University confirms that no one who lives close to the bush should feel safe in extreme conditions.